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Juh 22 1924. 1,5022%) c. w. COLEMAN DEL STRAINER HEATER Filed Feb. 19. 1924 C. h. C 01. [rm 0' INVFNgOR lolingv the heat of] a portion of, the exhaust Patented July 22, 1924. I

UNITED STATE S :PATENT OFFICE.

CLYDE w. connmanjor LINCOLN, measles OIL-STRAINER HEATER.

Application flied February 19, 1924. Serial No. 693,34}.

= ,To all; whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLYDE W, COLEMAN,

1' a citizen of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in ,the county of Lancaster and r-state of Nebraska, have invented certain new arid-"useful Improvements in Oil- Strainer Heaters, of which the following is a-specificationp My invention relates to a device for utiliz- ;,.gasesof- 'an internal combustion engine for the purpose of directly heating-v the oil 'i. .strainer-'in the'crank case of the engine.-

..: It 'is-a well known fact that ill-.VEIY cold .15 weather-thcaoil i'n the crank case of. an

1 .internal combustion" e nginevjbeomes thick,

- .-sorthat7after starting the engine it is difiicult I ,toe'stabiish' a-.flow of the oil through the ipunlpmnd through the strainer The oil -20, usually. contains water in suspension, and

this water at' freezing temperatures tends ,to separate froin the oil and to congeal, the

p aim being generally foi-xneclon the strainer.

.When the strainer. is thus coveredwith ice, .the; purnp cannot circulate the oil and the :engme-sufl'ers the' usual disastrous results caused hytimproper insufficient, or no lubricc ationf. In brief, itis thc object of my invei ition to provide a device whereby these troliblcswillnbe avoided and prevented.

, More specifically, my invention has for its objects the provision of a'devicewhich can be. roduced at a low cost ivhich can be easiy installed on" aninternal combustion enginejo'f anv type, which utilizes the exhaustgascsand thus entails no 'cost of operation, which directly heats the strainer, and whichiproduces the desired results al most instantly. .r

Hjaving in viewcthcse .ohjects and others which will he point-ed out in the description, I will now refer to the drawings, in whieh Figural ise'a view in perspective of the oil strainer with the-heating coil secured t5 thereto.

Figure 2 'is a vicw'in perspective of a portion of an internal combustion engine withm Iheater attachfil thereto.

' 'lhe .engine which -I show in Figure 2 is the co ventional automobile engine, but lie fo'll'owingdescri'ption it will be apparent thatthe heater maybe applied a to gas engines of any or all types. a

Numeral 1,0 deSignatesthe plate whlch in T15 sometypes of engines carries the strainer. The plate 10 has apertures 11 whereby it maybe secured to cover the openin n Central y posiinnenside'. Two strips 'Ifiof metallic gauze strip being secured to the plate 10 on its onothersuitable straining material are secured at their edges to thechanneled'strip.

15 in such a manner as to cover o'nt both sides the spacc sbetw en the arms Band; 14 of the coil.

The structure as abo e described is a combined strainer and heater; In ap lying it to the engine;fonexampleof-a edge car, I remove the-strainerjwhichis on the engine and insert my combined strainer and heater. The securing means which. have shown in my drawings are similur to' tliosc :1

of the engine on the Dodgefiar'but itis evident that these' gmeans may be modified and altered in such a manner that the device may be secured to-the engines-attire; cars of any other make,- or-i'n fact to any other internal combustion engines, whether portable or stationary. I After the plate 10 has been secured to the crank case, the'oil pipe 12 is connected' tothe crank case by means of the tube 12 in,such a manner that circulation of the oil through thestrainei'can be established.

I then provide a small aperture in the exhaust at the most desirable and convenient I point and I then insert a shut off valve in the aperture. v This vaIvcI connect with the pipe 13 by means of the tubelfi which com I pletes the installation.-

In cold weather the valve is first opened and the en ne is thenstartedh The main portion of t e exhaust gases will of course pass out through the usualchannel but" a "portion of the exhaust gases will travel ,through the by-pass 16 and thenc'ethrough the coil and out throughtheopening in the pipe 14. The heat of this latter portion of exhaust gas is absorbed by,the oil immedia'tely surrounding thestrainer. I The'heat thus absorbed is almost instantaneous in action in thinnin stiff oil or in thawing 'ice which encases t e strainer and which thus stops the circulation of the oil through the strainer. By actual tests it has been found that a thawing tem rature on the strainer can be obtained in mm five to ten seconds with the useof my device and that normal circulation of the oil can be established in less than thirty seconds after starting the engine. After the oil has been warmed sufliciently the valve may be closed as the circulation of the oil in the crank case will keep the strainer clear. Likewise during warm weather the valve should vbe kept closed to avoid the undue thinning of the oil. My device may be used advanta eously during the changeable weather in t e late autumn before "the lighter winter oils are used. It frequently happens that autumn days are vcry frosty and cold'in theearly morning but hot in midday, thus makin it difiicult to choose the proper oil for t at season. The stiff summer oil may be of the rightconsistency at noon but too stiffin the morn1ng to pass through the straineri lVith my device it is only necessary to open the valve for a fen?" minutes while the engine is running, the oil being thusf'brought to the proper consistency in a very short time. 1

In constructing the combined strainer and coil, I prefer to turn the inner end. upwardly as shown in Figure 1, so that the inner ex- .tremity will be at ornear the level of the upper surface of the oil in the crank case. In my prpierred construction I use copper tubing for. thG coil 13-14 and for the oil outlet 1211's well as for the tubes 12' and 16,

and I cast theplate '10 of bronze or brass.

I have shown the strainer strips in the form of perforated sheet metal, but it is obvious that in the choice of materials numerous others could he found which would serve the purpose equallywell and for that reason I do not desir 'to restrict my rights to any specific material or mater1als. It is also my desire to adapt my combined heater and strainer to anyand all types of internal combustion engines and to make such changes in the disclosed construction as are necessary for such adaptations. I therefore'reserve to myself the right to any or all equivalents of the structure which I show -and claim, and to any and all portions thereof.

Having thus described my inventionin terms which will bereadily understoodby others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what Ibelieve to be new and desire to secure by Patent of the United States is a:-

1. A combined heater and oil strainer which is adapted to be used on the crank case of an internal combustion engine, said combined heater andpil strainer comprising pass being adapted to through an opening thereof, saldicQ mblhd v heater and oil strainer includinga plate for closing the opening in the crank case, a strainer secured to said plate on the inner side' thereof, a tubular coil within said strainer, said tubular coil passing into and out of said plate and having its intake and outlet ends positioned on the outer side of the plate, and atubular by-pass secured to .said coil at its intake end, said tubular by- :be connected at its other end withthe exhaust of the en ine- 3. A .combined "oil strainer and hcater which is adapted for use inside the crank case of an internal combustion engine, said combined oil strainer and heater compris.

ing a plate which isiadaptedto cover-the opening in the crank case. said plate havnecting one of said ends to the exhaust of the engine, said means serving to;.d'eflect a portion ofqthe' exhaust gases through, the coil and to thusheat the strainer, the other of the ends-of the coil being the dischargeend for the exhaust gasesthus deflected.

4. A combined oilstrainer and heater comprising a tubular coil having a pair of substantially parallel portions, the inner end of said coil being upwardly and inwardly inclined, a plate which is adapted to close the opening in the crank case of in internal combustion engine, said plate being provided with a pair of apertures for receiving the ends of said coil with the ends of the coil rojegting outside he said sheatii of channeled metal surroun ing the outer edges of said coil, a pair of strainers secured to said sheath on opposite sides of the coil, means for connecting nuc ei the projecting ends of the coil with the exhaust of thecngine, and'means for permitting a circulation of the crank case oil through said strainer.

In testimonywhereof I afiix my signature.

' CLYDE W. COLEMAN.

hsaid plate into said strainer, said,

(plate, a 

